Regulatory relief

The congressional showdown over the pace of rulemaking during the pandemic is a hardening of older positions on banking policy ahead of the 2020 elections, observers said.

The congressional showdown over the pace of rulemaking during the pandemic is a hardening of older positions on banking policy ahead of the 2020 elections, observers said.

The templates are meant to make it easier to obtain agency approval for small-dollar loan products and to accommodate mortgage servicers that want to provide online loss mitigation options.

The agency has freed companies from reporting requirements and provided flexibility on exams to help them deal with COVID-19 fallout. It has also finished other regulatory relief efforts that were in the pipeline before the pandemic hit.

The Ohio Democrat's criticism of Rodney Hood, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, echoed complaints from bankers that the regulator was using the chaos from the pandemic to push through changes.

Rodney Hood, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, will testify before the Senate Banking Committee about how the regulator and the industry have responded to the coronavirus pandemic.

Consumer groups are poised to take the bureau to court over its gutting of underwriting requirements, while House Democratic leaders could attempt a repeal through the Congressional Review Act.

Congress won’t be back to Washington for at least two weeks but credit unions already have a laundry list of requests for lawmakers to consider.

The move is part of an effort by CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger to help smaller lenders by significantly raising loan thresholds for collecting and reporting mortgage data.

The Financial Stability Board said it stood ready to coordinate additional help on capital requirements, upcoming regulatory deadlines and other standards.